Just what did we learn in Round 21?
Bye bye, Magpies
The nature of the closeness of the ladder means Collingwood are still in the finals race, but their performance against the Lions on Saturday suggested Nathan Buckley and his men should forget about September and start booking holidays.
With its finals hopes dwindling at the MCG, the Magpies were horrific.
A 67-point loss to the 15th placed team (at home) shows a side nowhere near good enough for finals. Even if they miraculously make the eight, the Pies will be there to make up the numbers and nothing else.
Richmond continue to dream
In what has been an unbelievable two months for the club, Richmond have now won seven consecutive matches and loom as a potential danger team if they do sneak into the eight.
The Tigers went into the pressure cooker that is the Adelaide Oval and delivered once again, and it has many fans wondering when the run will end.
Unfortunately for the loyal Tigers faithful, a spring of hope is usually followed by a complete disaster.
Let’s hope not.
Giant improvements continue
Some might say it was only Melbourne they beat, but what a win it was.
The Giants recorded their biggest ever victory over the Dees with a 64-point mauling at the MCG.
The scoreline itself is impressive, but what made thew win more surprising was the fact they did it without Jonathan Patton, Callan Ward and Phil Davis, who all left the playing field with injury, leaving the Giants with just one fit player on the bench.
It’s happening slowly, but the Giants are beginning to make inroads.
Stefan Martin is a genuine star
The 198cm giant is thriving is the no.1 ruckman at the Lions and was once again key as the Lions mauled the Magpies on Saturday.
Despite his size, Martin moves like a silky midfielder and at age 26 still has plenty of football left in him.
Before the season began, Martin looked on the outer at AFL level, but he has developed into one of the league’s best players in 2014.
North Melbourne’s forwards are coming into form at just the right time
Much has been said about the North Melbourne’s front six this season, particularly it tall forwards, but the trio of Drew Petrie, Ben Brown and Aaron Black now look like they could do some damage in September.
There’s no doubt the Kangaroos are light in the key forward stocks, but should the three aforementioned big men continue their good form then the Brad Scott’s men will become a much tougher proposition in the finals.
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